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HEALTH

Spanish PM to unveil ‘shock’ coronavirus emergency plan as death toll jumps to 30

Pedro Sanchéz, the Spanish prime minister, said on Monday that he would unveil a "shock therapy" plan to combat the spread of coronavirus as the number of deaths rose to 30 and over 1,000 people were diagnosed with COVID-19.

Published: 9 March 2020 10:38 CET
Updated: 9 March 2020 15:44 CET
Spanish PM to unveil 'shock' coronavirus emergency plan as death toll jumps to 30
A local police car patrols the streets in the northern Spanish town of Haro on March 8, 2020. Around 30 people are kept at their homes under active observation in Haro. AFP
Without providing more details, Mr Sanchéz said he had been working on the plan with unions and business leaders for the past two weeks and it was ready to roll out. 
 
“We will announce a shock therapy plan in a few days as soon as we determine the exact diagnosis and fine tune the measures,” he said. “We want the plan to be effective and proportional to the scale of the problem.” 
Twitter link to Sanchez 
 
Nadia Calvino, the economy minister, said the government was taking action to avoid the outbreak doing more damage to the worst hit industries like tourism. 
 
She said the plan would be temporary and limited. 
 
Opposition parties had earlier criticised the left-wing coalition government for not acting faster to contain the damage caused to the economy by the outbreak in Spain. 

Pablo Casado, leader of the conservative Popular Party, told reporters: “When the government does not do anything, sometimes it is the opposition who needs to propose a shock plan.” 
 
 
 
 
 

The total number of people diagnosed with coronavirus (Covid-19) in Spain rose to 1,204 on Monday, health authorities said.

All 30 who have died from the virus were over 69 years old, with many living in nursing homes.

The first person to die from the virus was a 69-year-old man from Valencia who had recently travelled to Nepal. It was first thought that he died from pneunomia but tests later proved the cause was the virus.

The Spanish stock exchange fell 7 per cent today after trading started, the worst collapse since the Iraq War in 2003.

On Monday Vitoria-Gasteiz, a city of 250,000 people in the Basque region, became the first Spanish city to order the closure of all schools for 15 days.

It comes after an outbreak of the coronavirus at a recent funeral in the city. On Saturday police were deployed on the streets of Haro, a town in the La Rioja region after dozens of cases of coronavirus were traced back to a funeral held in a nearby Basque Country two weeks ago.

Police advised people confined to their houses because of coronavirus they will face fines of €600,000 if they break the lock down order. 

Some 60 cases originated among people who attended the service in the Basque city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, health authorities said.

Coronavirus in Spain: What's the latest news and how worried should you be? (PAYWALL FREE)

Thirty-nine of those 60 cases were in the La Rioja region, with most of them in the town of Haro and Casalarreina.

Pedro Sanchéz, the Spanish prime minister, is to join a meeting of the health ministry today to assess the next steps to take to try to contain the virus.

Two schools in the Basque Country in northwestern Spain have closed after cases were diagnosed at each school. 

FC Barcelona has announced it will hold the Champions League match against Naples on 18 March behind closed doors.

A pupil at the school which Princess Leonor and her sister Princess Sofia attend has been diagnosed with coronavirus.

Princess Leonor is first in line for the Spanish throne after her father, King Felipe VI.

The Enseñanza Santa María de los Rosales in Madrid is remaining open.

A spokesman for the royal household said: “Like most parents, King Felipe and Queen Sofia are trying to maintain normality for their children. The girls are going to school today.”  

by Graham Keeley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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HEALTH

Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

Denmark's government has struck a deal with four other parties to raise the point in a pregnancy from which a foetus can be aborted from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, in the first big change to Danish abortion law in 50 years.

Published: 3 May 2024 08:06 CEST
Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

The government struck the deal with the Socialist Left Party, the Red Green Alliance, the Social Liberal Party and the Alternative party, last week with the formal announcement made on Monday  

“In terms of health, there is no evidence for the current week limit, nor is there anything to suggest that there will be significantly more or later abortions by moving the week limit,” Sophie Løhde, Denmark’s Minister of the Interior and Health, said in a press release announcing the deal.

The move follows the recommendations of Denmark’s Ethics Council, which in September 2023 proposed raising the term limit, pointing out that Denmark had one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Western Europe. 

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Under the deal, the seven parties, together with the Liberal Alliance and the Conservatives, have also entered into an agreement to replace the five regional abortion bodies with a new national abortion board, which will be based in Aarhus. 

From July 1st, 2025, this new board will be able to grant permission for abortions after the 18th week of pregnancy if there are special considerations to take into account. 

The parties have also agreed to grant 15-17-year-olds the right to have an abortion without parental consent or permission from the abortion board.

Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s minister for Digitalization and Equality, said in the press release that this followed logically from the age of sexual consent, which is 15 years old in Denmark. 

“Choosing whether to have an abortion is a difficult situation, and I hope that young women would get the support of their parents. But if there is disagreement, it must ultimately be the young woman’s own decision whether she wants to be a mother,” she said. 

The bill will be tabled in parliament over the coming year with the changes then coming into force on June 1st, 2025.

The right to free abortion was introduced in Denmark in 1973. 

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